It was my 30th birthday.

On that day, my six-year-old son, Trevin Clarke, kept asking for cake.

I cut a small piece for him and got him to eat it. After getting tired from playing, he fell asleep on the sofa.

I carried him to the bedroom carefully and laid him down on the bed.

I waited until the cake had collapsed and the cream had melted, but Jaidyn Clarke still hadn't come home.

The phone calls I made were all showing as busy.

A few days ago, I had stressed repeatedly that I wanted him to spend my birthday with me, and he had agreed.

But it almost approached midnight at the moment.

I was getting anxious. Just as I was about to call him again, the door suddenly opened.

He walked in, dressed in trendy sportswear, changing his shoes at the entrance.

Seeing me, he was momentarily stunned. Then slapped his forehead and quickly explained, "Sorry, dear. I have so much work to do at the company that I forgot today was your birthday.

"Let me just take a quick shower, and I'll celebrate with you."

He went into the bathroom.

His phone was left on the sofa.

I usually never checked his phone, but at that moment, I had a strange sense.

There was a force urging me to pick it up.

As I was torn, his phone rang.

It was a notification of a message.

I picked it up and saw a voice message: [Thank you for today's cake. It was delicious! By the way, happy 69-day anniversary!]

It was said in a playful and vivid manner.

I knew who she was.

Her name was Lucille Oliver, his new apprentice. She was only 21 years old, in the prime of her youth.

Her face radiated with youthful energy.

As for me, no matter how expensive the skincare products and masks were, they couldn't tighten my loose skin.

Any expression I made revealed the signs of aging around my eyes and brows.

While I was distracted by the phone, Jaidyn came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel.

His gaze lingered on the phone for a second, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

"That young girl, she's quite lively. Actually, we just worked overtime together, and I ordered a small cake for her as a treat. She said it was our 69-day anniversary, so I went along with it. If she's happy, she can help with a lot of work, and I can have more time to spend with you and Trevin.

"Are you annoyed, honey? This is just a workplace tactic, a way to manipulate new employees into working hard."

He took my hand and led me to the dining table.

Then he cut a large piece of cake and placed it on my plate.

He gazed into my eyes with his usual deep affection. "Happy birthday, my love. May you always be happy!

"If I've done something wrong today, you can punish me however you want.

"Or maybe I should clear your shopping cart? How about that?" he asked gently.

I was a bit annoyed and, in a fit of pique, handed him my phone. "Go ahead, clear it."

He took my phone, logged in to the shopping application, and found that my shopping cart was empty, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Jaidyn, who taught you that clearing the shopping cart would make your wife happy?" I asked with a light smile.

He was taken aback and looked flustered. "No one taught me. Isn't it popular online? To make a woman happy, you can clear her shopping cart. I'm sorry, Delaney. I've been so shallow. I forgot that you're frugal and have no interest in that kind of thing."

When we first got married, our financial situation wasn't good, so I developed a habit of being thrifty.

Apart from necessities, I hardly had any consumption needs.

After years of self-restraint, it became a deep-seated habit. Even when conditions improved, it was hard to change.

In an era of widespread deliveries, I became an old-fashioned woman.

My spending desire was even less than that of elderly people.

And he knew this well.

I felt increasingly annoyed, but I also knew that without concrete evidence, it wasn't appropriate to pursue the matter further.

Losing interest in the cake, I turned and went to wash up.

Jaidyn called after me, "Honey, don't be upset. I'll make it up to you this weekend."

Marriage wasn't a game, so you couldn't just break up when you were unhappy like you would in a relationship.

Unless you had decided to separate, arguing was pointless.

It was said that before marriage, you should be particular about everything in a relationship. After marriage, you shouldn't be that picky.

Even the car you bought could have problems, so how could you guarantee that there would be no issues in a marriage?

I tried to calm myself and decided to have a serious talk with him.

I wanted to make clear my bottom line.

And his inappropriate behavior...

However, when I walked into the room, I saw him sprawled out on the bed, breathing steadily in his sleep.

My carefully organized emotions instantly lost control.

He knew I was annoyed.

Yet he still went to sleep without any care.

In the past, he would never have acted like this.

When we were dating, I was annoyed for some reason.

He would text and call me continuously. Even if I said it was nothing, he could sense my emotions through my tone and demeanor.

He wouldn't let my feelings go unresolved overnight.

He always lived up to his promises.

Sometimes, we would resolve issues until three or four in the morning.

But he never got tired of it.

He would say lovingly after we made up, "You don't know how afraid I am of making you angry.

"I love you so deeply.

"I care about you so much that I can't bear to lose you."

Now, those sweet words that once made my heart race seemed to turn into shards of ice.

They were stabbing into my heart.

So, was it that he didn't love me enough anymore?

I had indeed noticed the subtle changes in him recently.

He spent a long time in front of the mirror before going out.

He would suddenly smile at his phone.

And he had stopped wearing those formal business suits.

Instead, he pulled out his old sportswear from his student days. After finding that they no longer fit, he even bought several new sets online.

How ridiculous. After we got married, he relied on me for everything, from his clothes to his underwear.

I would prepare his outfits every day, neatly folded by the bedside, and he would just put them on easily.

He never cared about these trivial matters.

However...

Now, every morning he would stand eagerly in front of the wardrobe, choosing clothes.

As I lay in bed, the more I thought about it, the more awake I became.

The headache from insomnia gradually overwhelmed me.

If it were before marriage, I wouldn't even think twice before breaking up.

If it were just after getting married, maybe I would be so distressed that I would suggest a divorce.

Yet, we had been in love for six years.

Our life had improved and we had a baby, Trevin.

We had adjusted all our habits, managed our lives in harmony, and treated our parents well.

Just when everything was getting better...

He got lost.

And all I could do now was have a serious talk with him.

I was nearly on the verge of tears.

I turned off the lights and forced myself to sleep.

After all, I had to send Trevin to school the next day.

And I had to go to work.

I didn't have time to be emotional.

Jaidyn mentioned he would make it up to me for my birthday this weekend.

Early in the morning, he took Trevin to his grandmother's house.

I thought that it was good. I had some things I wanted to discuss with him, and it wasn't convenient with the child around.

Jaidyn pushed a gift towards me. It seemed to be a branded perfume, which I rarely use and don't know much about, except that it was quite expensive.

Suddenly, I remembered something.

The first gift he gave me after we got together was perfume.

It was a cheap one from a night market stall, and he had held it in his palm for a long time, feeling embarrassed to give it to me.

"Sorry, I don't have much money right now, so I can only buy this for you. But once I have more, I'll definitely get you something better.

"I'll buy you the most expensive perfume in the world."

My heart suddenly softened.

He still remembered it.

It suddenly seemed hard to utter a word.

With such a harmonious atmosphere, discussing such a serious matter might seem too out of place.

During my hesitation, his phone rang several times.

He hung up, but it rang again.

A few days ago, he had rearranged all his work to make up for my birthday.

He seemed very hesitant.

He picked up his phone, wanting to end the call, again and again, only to stop.

Finally, he made a choice.

He pressed the power button to turn off the phone.

It seemed he chose me.

But I couldn't feel any joy.

At that moment, his demeanor became extremely restless.

He urged me to light the candles and cut the cake.

His impatience was burning like a fire in his eyes.

This make-up birthday celebration was turning into a mere formality.

And even his efforts to appease me seemed half-hearted.

My heart sank further.

After he glanced at his watch countless times, I said, "If you have work to do, you should go ahead."

I clutched the perfume tightly as if it could give me strength.

He seemed relieved.

He didn't even offer any polite refusal before getting up quickly from his seat.

"There's a problem with a project in the company. Lucille can't handle it, so I need to go take a look.

"I'll be back soon."

Four hours passed.

He didn't come back.

I carried the cake to his office.

They seemed to have just finished their work. Lucille was packing up documents while sincerely praising, "Mr. Clarke, you're amazing. How do you know everything?

"Thanks to you today, or I would have been in tears from anxiety."

Jaidyn was in high spirits, his smile carrying a hint of affection.

He patted her head. "Little girl, you have a long way to go."

Noticing my gaze, he looked over, and upon seeing me, he froze and withdrew his hand awkwardly.

Lucille, following his gaze, saw me.

She walked over quickly and apologized, "Are you Mrs. Clarke? I'm so sorry for interrupting your date. I'm so clumsy. Please don't blame Mr. Clarke. He's just too kind-hearted."

She glanced up at Jaidyn.

Her eyes were filled with tacit understanding and a smile.

Jaidyn looked at me with some unease and explained, "It is about work. Lucille is someone I trained. If something went wrong, I'm the one responsible."

I didn't want to embarrass him in front of others.

Holding back my displeasure, I responded softly, "I understand. It's just that you left without eating anything, so I…"

At almost the same time, Lucille peeked at the cake in my hand curiously.

She was so close that a faint and elegant fragrance wafted towards me.

It took me a while to realize that this scent was identical to the perfume Jaidyn had given me.

It felt like my heart was sinking further.

It seemed as if there was no bottom to this abyss of despair.

"It's from the shop in the east city. The texture is very soft and sweet."

Lucille's eyes lit up with excitement.

The girl's eyes were watering with desire. Jaidyn seemed to find her reaction adorable.

He said teasingly, "Look at you. Go ahead and have some."

"What? Is that okay?" Lucille asked, her eyes flickering with a hint of provocation as she looked at me.